With seven minutes remaining and N.C. State leading Miami by one point, Billie McDowell stepped up and drained two three-pointers in a span of just more than a minute, leading the Wolfpack to their second consecutive victory.
The threes pushed State (13-6, 3-3) out to a 69-62 lead and the Pack would not trail again, as they defeated Miami 83-77 at Reynolds Coliseum Thursday night.
However, the night did not start off great for McDowell, who finished the first half with only three points on 1-for-6 shooting in only 11 minutes of play.
Miami coach Katie Meier said she was worried when she saw McDowell only had three first-half points.
“She is a big-time player,” Meier said. “She always hits the big shots, and so I was very fearful when she only had three at halftime because I knew she would rise up and bring her game in the second half.”
Coach Kay Yow said even though McDowell had a shaky first half, she knew she would continue to shoot and bounce back in the second half.
“Billie was 1-for-6 in the first half, and she still had confidence in her shot,” Yow said. “She was ready, and when she had that open look, she took it. She gave us a big lift and a boost in the beginning of the second half and throughout that time, so that was critical for us and for her.”
McDowell said State needed to continue to play within the offense.
“It’s all about execution,” McDowell said. “I’m not sure a lot of the shots were bad shots–its just a lot of them weren’t falling. We just had to continue shooting with confidence and penetrate and kick to get us in our best rhythm.”
The disappointing first half for McDowell was followed by a stellar second half performance.
McDowell had 16 second-half points on 6-for-9 shooting, including 4-of-6 behind the arc. Her 19 points were a game high, and it was her second highest point output of this season – behind her 23 points at Virginia just two weeks ago.
“I was just looking for all five players to execute our offense,” McDowell said. “They hit me when I was open, and my job was to nail it, which I really wasn’t doing in the first half. But, I didn’t let that stop me. I just wanted to pick it up in the second half, and I did.”
Yow said Khadijah Whittington and Tiffany Stansbury caused Miami to bring the defense inside the paint, therefore allowing McDowell to spot up for an open three pointer.
“When KD and Tiff started flashing toward the middle, it really helped us because when they got it in the middle, it drew the defense in so we got a better shot,” Yow said.
Even with McDowell posting 19 points, she and Yow agreed the balanced performance helped everyone play better.
“Six people in double figures tonight, that was a lot of help,” Yow said. “That’s awesome. We were really moving the ball, we were very unselfish and we were getting the shots we were looking for.”
